Allegro, Andante, Adagio Animals

(Just realized the elephant is pictured here under 'allegro animals'. Not sure how that happened!)

I use this as my very first lesson in tempo. My Primary President suggested that I incorporate some music theory into my singing time lessons and this was one of the games I came up with. It really helps the kids visualize the tempos and what they mean.

I do this activity slightly differently for Junior and Senior Primary. Instructions for both versions are below.

Supplies needed:

• Tempo sign with tempo names & speeds (Allegro=fast, Andante=medium, Adagio=slow). Mine is at the top of the picture above.
• 3 strips of paper--one that says "Allegro", one "Andante", one "Adagio."
• 12 different pictures of animals--4 that are fast/allegro animals, 4 that are walking speed/andante animals, and 4 that are slow/adagio animals. The animals I used are listed below.
• 12 envelopes labeled 1-12
• pins
• FOR SENIOR: Find the Latin name for each of the 12 animals you picked (the Latin names for the ones I picked are listed below). Print off the list of names and cut into individual strips.

List of Animals (according to tempo):

Allegro Animals--cheetah, lion, horse, deer
Andante Animals--man walking, elephant, pig, bear
Adagio Animals--snail, tortoise, starfish, sloth

List of Latin Names for Animals:
(I am in no way an expert on the nomenclature for animals. This was all done using Google and Wikipedia, so I'm not 100% positive that this is the 'correct' nomenclature. But the kids don't care).

Bradypus tridactylus (sloth)

Homo sapien (man)

Helix aspersa (snail)

Elephas maximus (elephant)

Sus scrofa domesticus (pig)

Asterias rubens (starfish)

Ursus maritimus (bear)

Panthera leo (lion)

Acinonyx jubatus (cheetah)

Odocoileus virginianus (deer)

Geochelone gigantean (tortoise)

Equus caballus (horse)

Set up:

1. Select 12 songs that you would like the Primary to sing. You can have one list for both Junior or Senior, or two separate lists.

1. JUNIOR:
1. Pin the Tempo sign at the top of the board, with the Allegro, Andante, and Adagio signs below (see the set up in the picture at top).
2. Put one animal inside each of the 12 envelopes.

1. SENIOR:
1. Pin the Tempo sign at the top of the board, with the Allegro, Andante, and Adagio signs below (see the set up in the picture at top).
2. Pin the 12 animals up underneath the tempo group they belong to.
3. Put one Latin name inside each of the 12 envelopes.
1. ***(If your Senior singing time is after Junior, the set-up is really easy--just leave the Tempo sign and Allegro, Andante, Adagio signs where they were, along with any of the animals that Junior placed in the correct tempo group).

Game play:

1. BOTH (before playing)
1. Explain what "tempo" means (how fast we sing/play a song). 
1. Give them an example of a piece of a song played fast, medium, and slow.
2. Teach them the proper names for fast (allegro), medium (andante), and slow (adagio)
1. Have them repeat the names with you.

1. JUNIOR:
1. Choose a child to come up and open one of the envelopes. Have them show the animal to the Primary, then decide if it's an allegro animal, andante animal, or adagio animal (note that their definition might be different than yours--is a pig 'andante' or 'adagio'? You can either correct them or just go with what they say).
2. Pin the animal under the selected tempo, then sing the first song on your list AT THAT TEMPO
3. Repeat, but with animal #2 sing song #2, etc.

1. SENIOR:
1. Choose a child to come up and open one of the envelopes. Have them read the Latin name (if they can!) to the Primary, then try to decide which animal it is. They can ask for help if they need it.
2. Pin the Latin name under the correct animal, then sing the first song on your list AT THE TEMPO that animal is placed underneath.
3. Repeat, but with animal #2 sing song #2, etc.

***Just a brief note--I warn the kids up front that I can never make it through an entire song at adagio tempo. I tell them to watch me carefully because at some point I will speed it back up to normal. This keeps them on their toes (and keeps you from singing the entire song at a snail's pace).